The 59-year-old Blackhawks TV analyst, former University of Wisconsin player and coach has non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Blackhawks TV analyst, and former NHL player and coach Tony Granato has been diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is taking a leave of absence from his work for NBC Sports Chicago and the NHL Network.
Granato grew up in a hockey family in Downers Grove, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. Along with former Blackhawks Ed Olczyk and Chris Chelios, he was one of the first Chicago-area players to make a visible impact in the NHL.
Granato's sister Cammi was the first woman inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Brother Don is the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.
The 59-year-old Granato posted on X/Twitter he will begin treatment this week.
“I wish I could reach out to everyone individually, but felt like this was the best way to share the news,” Granato tweeted.
Granato was fired in March as coach at the University of Wisconsin after seven seasons. He starred for the Badgers as a player over four seasons from 1983 to 1987. Granato had been drafted by the New York Rangers in 1982 in the sixth round and 120th overall.
A member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Granato had 248 goals and 244 assists in the NHL over 14 seasons with the Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. He won the 1998 Bill Masterton Trophy as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
Granato also skated for Team USA in the 1988 Olympics in Calgary.
Granato was the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche in 2002-04 and again in 2008-09, compiling a 104-78-17 record. He was an assistant with Pittsburgh and Detroit before returning to Wisconsin as head coach in 2016. Granato had 105-129-16 record guiding the Badgers.
Granato also coached the United States in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
"My family, faith, and friends will be my strength to help me through my treatments," Granato said in his tweet. "I appreciate all the love and support I have already received."
Granato had been part of a recently launched supplementary program on NBC Sports Chicago called "HawkCast."